MEYERTON. – The family of 8-year-old Anné Strydom, a gymnast from Meyerton affiliated with the Meyerton Gymnastics Club, is beaming with pride after the young star acquired her Sedibeng colours for gymnastics as well as her Sedibeng and SA colours in Arialnastix.
In total, Anné achieved an astounding 19 medals ranging from gold, silver, and bronze respectively.
Her mother Cherish Strydom says Anné’s journey began in September 2022 when she joined the Meyerton Gymnastics Club.
“I entered her into Meyerton gymnastics because she loved tumbling around. I finally gave up and called the nearest club to us.
“She did not compete last year, she only attended because she liked the sport. The first few months were quite hard on her, but she never gave up, she pushed herself daily to achieve better results.”
Cherish says this year, Anné asked to compete for the very first time.
“I was scared because she was only practising for about 4 months with no prior experience. This made me see that this is not only a sport for her but also a passion. She pushed herself to learn new skills and worked on her routines. Every competition got better until she finally made it to the zone where she achieved silver and her Sedibeng District colours.”
Anné began focusing on Arialnastix for the rest of the year; she pushed herself in preparing for the next competition where she competed as a level 2 gymnast, securing gold on all three of her routines.
The young star competed at level 3 gymnast for the last remaining competitions where she garnered more gold and silver medals. Anné competed for her provincial colours and got 1st place on beam, 1st place on trampoline, and 2nd place on tumbling.
“While competing in the South African Arialnastix, she secured her National colours. She is the champion of the South African Arialnastix in her category in the whole of South Africa which is quite a huge achievement for her age and experience.
“She is proud to be a member of Meyerton Gymnastics Club, she looks up to her coaches with the most respect and love,” Cherish concludes.
